Combined visible and audible signal.



No. 656,434. 4 Patented Au 2|, I900.

E. w. VOGEL.

COMBINED VISIBLE AND AUDIBLE SIGNAL.

(Applicatinn filed Jhl 7, 1899., (No Model.)

THE roams PETERS co., wno'ro-uwcuwasnmcwn, n c.

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE w; voeEL, OF oHIoAGoQILLINOIs, ASSIGNOR o DAVID s. WEee,

. :oEsAM PLACE. I

COMBINED VlSlBLE AND AjUDlBL E SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 656,434, dated August21, 1900.

Application filed July 7,1899. Serial No. 723,024. (No niodel.)

To whom it may concern Be it known that I, EUGENE W. VoG L, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in aCombined Visible and Audible Signal; and I declare the following to bea'full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification.

My invention has for its object the production of an apparatus for usemore particularly in connection with railway-crossing alarms, althoughit is not necessarily con fined to these uses.

The invention is designed to provide a visible as well as an audiblealarm; and to that end it consists ofthe provision not only of the usualbell now employed at railway-crossings to sound an alarm, but also inthe pro-- vision of a light whereby a visible alarm is also provided. Inan apparatus oft-his kind it is desirable that the visible alarm be inthe nature of a flash-light. In my present apparatus I have so arrangedthe construction that the current now employed to ring the bell at acrossing-signal may be alternately switched into and out of a circuitcontaining an electric lamp, so that the desired flashlight is provided.

The invention consists in a combination of devices and applianceshereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View illustrating myinvention where mechanical means are employed to switch the current.Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illus= trating my invention Whereelectrical means are employed to switch the current.

I will first describe the apparatus illustrated by Fig. 1. A representsany suitable source of electrical power, such as a battery, and combinedtherewith may be any suitable form of relay mechanism, itbeing-sufiioient, so far as the present invention is concerned, todescribe the point marked A. as the source of electrical supply. Leadingtherefrom is a wire B, connected at any suitable point to the arm 0, thelatter constituting the armature for the electromagnets D and alsoconstituting the arm carrying the bell clapper or hammer F representsthe bell. Engaged to the arm C is a contact piece G, normally inelectrical contact with the contact-piece H.

from the magnets- Leading from the points H is a wire 72, which passesthrough the electromagnets, the wire. 71 leading thence back to thesource of electrical supply A. Tapping the wire h is a whey, whichextends to a contact-point J, an electric lamp J being located on thiswire j. Located on the arm 0 is an arm 0, carrying a contact 0 whichwhen the arm 0 is tilted forms an electrical contact with the joint J.

The operation of the device will now be understood. The current leavingthe source of supply A passes over the wire B, thence to the arm 0through the contact G and contact-point H, thence through the wire h tothe electromagnets D, thereby energizing the latter, and thence throughthe wire h back to the source of supply A. The energizing of the magnetsD attracts the arm 0 and tilts the latter, thus causing the bell-clapperE to strike the bell and sound the latter. The movement of the arm 0carries the contact G away from the point H, and thus breaks J andlights the latter. As soon, however,

as the magnets D are deenergized by the breaking of the current G H thespring a returns the arm C to its normal position, thus establishing theconnection at GH and breaking the connection at J 0 By the above meansit will be seen that the currentalternately passes through the mag netsD and taps the bell and alternately passes through the lamp J and lightsit, thus giving the latter the desired flash.

In Fig. 2 the operation is much the same. A represents the source ofsupply, as in Fig. 1, with the wire a leading thence to the arm .Aspring 0 keeps the arm 0 normally'away V C. There is the contact G andthe contactpoint H, with the wire H leading thence to the electromagnetsD and a wire 71, leading from the latter to a contact-point K. At thispoint there is a pivoted arm L, constituting also the armature for theelectromagnets M. The arm L is normally held in contact with i the pointK by the spring L. From the magnets M a wire m leads back to the sourceof electrical supply A. Tapping the wire a between. the source ofelectrical supply and the arm is a wire 0, leading to a contact-point Padjacent to the arm L and so arranged that 1 when the arm L is attractedby the magnets M the arm L will come in'conta'ct with the fcontact-point P. On the wire 0 is a lamp J. T The operation of thisapparatus will at once be seen. The current passes over the wire a,through the arm C, contacts G H, wires h, through the electromagnets D,thus energi zing the latter and attracting the arm 0 and tapping thebell, thenc through the wires 77. o t oi nt KarmLgand magnet M, thus rit energizing the lat er and attracting the arm L. Ihis throws the arm Lover against the contact-point P. From the electromagnetsM the currentpasses 'over to the wire m to the 2 source of power A. When the armL istilted, however, it breaks its contact with the point K and contactswith the point P. The current thereupon is switched over the wire 0, 1through the light J, through the arm L, through the magnets M, and wirem back to the source of supply A. I

It will be seen from the above description thatin both the forms shown Ihave provided a "switch whereby the whole cnrrentis alternately switchedthrough the bell and then through the light. This is'of materialadvantage over a construction wherein the current 40 1 is divided, partof it going through the bell and part of it through the alarm. Another,hra-terial advantage over a structure such as I have just described isthat there is a positive alternate connection and disconnection of thecircuit into which the lamp is located, so that a-positive flash of thelamp is obtained.

It iswobvious that the particular system of wiring and the particulararrangement of the parts andth'e particular construction of the partsmight be materially altered without departing from the spirit of myinvention,which consists, essentially, in the provision of a switchmechanism for positively switching the entire cu went-alternately through the bell and through the lamp.

What I claim is--- In a combined audible and visible signal, thecombination with a source of electrical supply, of a bell located in acircuit and a lamp located in another circuit, and switch mechanismacting automaticaily to alternately throw a current through the bell andthrough the lamp, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this 'specifi c'a- 65 tion in the presenceof two witnesses.

EUGENE W. VOGEL.

Witnesses:

-W. H. CHAMBERLIN,

GERTRUDE 'HEI ELBERGER.

